Living the Life
by ArianaRae
Summary: On Halloween of 1981, Voldemort takes a different route with killing the Potters. They survive to raise their son. AU, LilyJames. Other pairings may develop later.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer- Not mine. If it was, I wouldn't be writing FANfiction, would I?

A collaboration between kiwipotterlover (from a different site) and I.  
Enjoy the story!

* * *

"Mummy, look, there's Mikey! Can I go trick-or-treat with him, please?"

"Well, let's ask his mum first, all right? I could use the time to talk with her anyway."

A small boy and his mother were holding hands and walking down the street on Halloween of 1981. Wind gusted about them, blowing the young woman's hair in her face. Streetlamps flickered, providing a warm glow to the chill of the evening. The boy, dressed as a cowboy, was chatting animatedly with his friend when all of a sudden, a breeze picked up his hat, sending it down the street. "No!" the child wailed, chasing after it.

"Adam! Come back here!" she called to his retreating back. Waving a quick goodbye to the other mother, the woman set off after her impulsive son.

Adam ran down the street, eyes set on his hat, which had settled next to the oak on the corner. He reached it and knelt down to retrieve it. As he straightened up, put it on, and adjusted the string securely, he spotted a tall man in dark robes coming around from the next street. Adam brightened, waving to him. "Hey, mister! What're you dressed as?" The man seemed to glide up to him. His hood fell off, exposing a snake-like face and scarlet slits for eyes.

Adam stumbled back, instinctively terrified. He turned tail and was met with the welcome sight of his mother. He immediately hid behind her legs, ignoring her reprimand. She too cast a startled glance at the strange man before turning back and taking Adam's hand once more, walking perhaps a bit faster than necessary.

Voldemort pulled out his wand, fingering it with a sneer. It would be so simple to kill the filthy Muggle and all the ones around him. But no, that would alert his targets to his presence. He sheathed his wand, sauntering down the street a bit further before he reached number 4. Easily pushing the gate open, he smirked as he envisioned how he would soon be the victor.

* * *

"James, honey, stop encouraging him! At this rate, there'll be a fifth Marauder before long," Lily laughed as she teased her husband.

"And won't it be great? Harry's already got some of the small-scale pranks under his belt. He'll probably be able to take down Sirius before he even starts Hogwarts!" James replied with a grin.

Lily pushed her long auburn hair out of her face. "You and your crazy plans. Well, I'd better get the little prankster-in-training to sleep; it's already eight-thirty." She picked up the year-old child and started off in the direction of the staircase.

Just as she reached the first step, the door burst off its hinges, and the Potters were met with the same terrifying sight the two Muggles had just moments before. James whirled to his wife, unaware of his wand flying off of the coffee table. "Lily, it's him! Peter's betrayed us; take Harry and go!"

"But James-"

"Just _go_! I'll hold him off... I love you."

Lily was in tears. "I love you too." With that, she raced up the stairs.

James turned around and faced Voldemort, who had been watching the exchanges as he took in the surroundings.

"Very noble of you, Potter," he sneered. "But it might be just a tad hard to, what was it… Ah, yes. 'Hold me off' without a wand, no?"

James narrowed his eyes. "What in the bloody hell are you talking about?" He had his wand right there… Didn't he?

_Oh no_. James's heart sunk as his eyes took in the wand now curled up in Voldemort's left hand, Summoned while his back was turned. With a smirk, Voldemort clenched the hand holding it into a fist, and the wand snapped nearly in two, held together by only a splinter of wood.

"_Bollocks_," he hissed. Without hesitation, he grabbed a vase and hurled it at the wizard across from him. Voldemort blocked it and sent an _Avada Kedavra_ towards James, which he dodged before sprinting into the kitchen and pressing his back up against the wall, calculating his next move. He had no wand, limited missiles, and he couldn't run forever. He heard Voldemort leisurely strolling up to the door, obviously in his element.

He had no idea of what to do, and was fully preparing himself for simply wrestling the dark wizard to the floor in an attempt to delay him when inspiration struck. James grabbed the knife block. Taking a knife at random, he advanced slowly on Voldemort, dancing around curses thrown at him. He was only a few meters away now.

James whipped the knife at the evil wizard. He managed to block it just in time. Now, not only was he perfectly fine, he was pissed off. Being desperate and knowing he was most likely about to die; James drew back a fist and punched Voldemort in the face. The tall, snake-like man reached up and touched the red mark incredulously, as though he couldn't believe someone had dared lay a hand on him. Spells came flying with a renewed fury.

Still fighting, the two slowly pushed back into the hall, James pressed against the same stairs Lily had disappeared up just a few minutes earlier. Voldemort, meanwhile, was getting more creative than just a simple _Avada Kedavra_.

Voldemort pointed his wand at James' heart. "_Confringo_!" James hastily ducked. The Blasting Curse whizzed past his head. James could feel it just barely graze his messy hair. His eyes widened as the curse exploded onto the wall. He was thrown forward, hitting his head on the railing, and collapsed. A slow trickle of blood oozed from a cut on his face, dripping down onto his shirt.

James weakly lifted his head.

"You will never win this war," he said as he tried in vain to keep his head up.

Voldemort looked down at him, all superior airs becoming evident as he relished his victory. "I think you'll find the only thing stopping me from taking over completely is your one-year old son. And that can be easily dealt with."

Anger flooded James's body. "Go to hell, you bloody bastard," he muttered bitterly with the last of his strength. With one last shudder, his body went limp. A malevolent sneer appeared on Voldemort's face as he stepped over James Potter's lifeless body on his way slowly up the stairs.

He stopped outside the nursery door; his sneer became more twisted as he heard the red-haired woman inside hastily shoving things against the door. He casually blasted the obstacles aside and opened the door.

Lily set Harry down gently in the crib and turned back, arms spread wide in a protective stance, chest heaving, eyes wide with fright and bright with determination.

"Stand back, woman. I only want the boy."

"No! You can't! Take me instead! Not Harry! Please not Harry!" Lily pleaded desperately.

Voldemort shot her a cruel smirk. "Last chance. Now, _stand aside._"

"No! I won't!"

Voldemort heaved a dramatic sigh, fingering his wand. "Very well. _Avada_-" He stopped mid-curse, apparently thinking over an idea. "You know, you're a very pretty woman. I'm sure my Death Eaters could find a use for you. _Sensim aerhaud_." He waved his wand once in a circular motion.

Lily clasped her hands to her throat, which had started to glow a deep purple. She found it was becoming harder and harder to breath. She struggled to stay up, calling for James and pleading for Harry's life.

Voldemort merely watched her, his deformed features alight with amusement as he waited for the spell to come into full effect.

"No use in calling for your pathetic husband. He's dead now; the fool was killed by a mere Blasting Curse. I do wonder, what will everyone think happened to you, when they cannot find your body?"

Voldemort continued to taunt her until she gasped one final 'Please, no…' and slumped to the floor, unconscious. Voldemort Petrified her so she would not wake up until he wanted her to. His focus was now entirely on the crib and the small child inside.

Harry's eyes were wide as he looked up into the snake-like face of Voldemort. The small boy glanced at his mother's body then back to him. "You hurt mummy?"

Voldemort hissed. "Quiet, you."

Harry stumbled backwards away from Voldemort but in doing so he fell down, hit his head on the railing of his crib, and started to cry.

The man glared at him, face contorted with both hatred and disdain. He had always hated the sounds of crying children. "Goodbye, Harry Potter."

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

Instantly, chaos filled the room. Harry let out a wail as the curse hit his forehead, his green eyes glowed eerily as tears ran down his cheeks. Looking up at Voldemort he spoke through the tears "You're a bad man."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "What the…"

As if on cue, green light filled the room again, but this time it was different. It wasn't the single stream of deathly light but a multitude of different greens expanding slowly from Harry. The room began to shake violently as if there was an earthquake happening. Voldemort's eyes widened in fear as he realized what was happening but it was too late. The nursery exploded with a tremendous bang. Furniture was reduced to splinters, walls crumbled to dust. Debris rained down but it veered away from the humans as though hitting an invisible shield.

Voldemort had vanished in the explosion. The nursery had been reduced to rubble. Muggles danced around the site screaming for someone to call the police. The fire brigade. The ambulances… And on that night, that chaotic, frenzied night in the normally quiet town of Godric's Hollow. If you listened, listened carefully, you could hear the heart-wrenching sounds of a baby screaming for his mother to wake up.

* * *

Here's the first chapter! This will be a novel-length series (hopefully), so stay tuned for updates!

-Ariana


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to all reviewers! Feedback is really appreciated. Kiwipotterlover and I are pleased with this chapter, and we're especially happy about the introduction of Tonks. We used artistic license to make her 10 years older than canon, so that 1981 would have her in her first year of Auror training. Comments are, once again, aprreciated. Let us know what you think! Next chapter will hopefully be up in less than a week.

-Ariana

* * *

"Oh my God. What _was_ that?"

"Look over there! The Potters' house!"

"What d'you think happened?"

"Dunno. Someone call the police. And an ambulance! Quickly, there could be people trapped in there!"

"Don't worry. I've called them; they're on their way!"

Muggles from all across the village were streaming towards the smoking house. As they drew close and saw the extent of the damage, they started screaming, yelling to get back, lost in the pandemonium.

Unnoticed in all the ruckus, there was a loud pop near the small wooded area next to the Potter's home, and a tall man with black hair ran out, stumbling forward. He stared in horror at the house for a moment, before coming to his senses.

Sirius Black whipped out a seemingly ordinary mirror.

"Show me your other," he whispered to it. The mirror swirled as though it was filled with fog, and then revealed the face of Remus Lupin.

"Remus? Why the hell do you have the mirror?" Sirius asked rudely, quite shocked.

The scarred man scowled. "James gave it to me a week ago. Didn't want it to fall into the wrong hands. What are you calling for?"

"See for yourself." Sirius turned the mirror to the smoking ruins. Next thing he knew, Remus had Apparated and was standing right next to him.

"So, the traitor finally comes to see his work, eh?" Remus spat angrily, grabbing Sirius by the collar and pushing him up against a tree.

"What? NO, oh no, no, I- no. It was Peter! I swear on everything I love that it was Peter!"

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Oh, for Merlin's sake." Sirius said whilst forcing the angry werewolf off of him, impatiently grabbing his left sleeve and pulling it up, Sirius revealed an arm with no Mark. "Happy now? But how do I know you're not the traitor?"

Remus copied Sirius' action. "From that. Listen, I owe you an apology-"

Sirius shook his head. "No, you don't. Now come on, we have to get in there."

"Right. You handle the Muggles and make sure they don't go inside, I'll get Bathilda to call the Ministry."

Sirius transfigured his and Remus' robes to something resembling a policeman's uniform.

"So the Muggles aren't suspicious. Now go," he said.

Sirius pushed his way through the crowd.

"Alright, alright, everybody quiet! I said _quiet_!" Sirius bellowed to the surrounding men and women. "That's better. Now, no one is to go inside the house or garden. You are all to stay right here. Do not move from your positions. Is that understood?" Several nods. "I said, _is that clear_?" Everyone present murmured assent, nodding furiously.

"Good."

* * *

Remus hammered on the door of a small cottage. "Bathilda! Bathilda, it's Remus!"

An elderly woman pulled the door open. "Oh, hello, Remus. And to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"It's Lily and James; they've been attacked. I'm about to go see if they're alive, but I need you to contact the Ministry. Have them send over an Obliviation Squad, maybe some Aurors."

"Of course, dear," Bathilda said, already shuffling over to the fireplace. "You go help your friends."

Remus raced off in the direction of the Potters', calling a word of thanks over his shoulder.

As he drew close, he saw Sirius walk through the gate. Remus hurried after him. Together, they walked through the front door, or rather, where it used to be before it was blasted away.

Sirius was the first to spot James. His legs were sticking out from underneath a pile of debris.

"Prongs," he murmured. He fell to his knees beside the man, throwing bits of plaster to the side.

"No, James. James! Don't be dead, please don't be dead."

Remus placed a hand on Sirius's shoulder, choking back tears. "Sirius, I- I don't think he's alive."

"NO!" cried Sirius fiercely. "He has to be alive, he can't die like this. _Enervate!_"

"Sirius-" Remus as cut off by a weak cough from James.

"Moo-y? Pa-foot?" James asked blearily as he struggled back into consciousness.

Sirius grabbed James. "Thank Merlin. Scared me half to death there, mate." He gave a shaky grin.

"Lily… Harry?" James asked anxiety creeping into his voice as he tried to push himself up on his elbows, but failed miserably.

"We— we think they're upstairs." Remus said hesitantly, gently shoving James down so he couldn't hurt himself further.

"You think? Go check," James wheezed.

"Sirius, you heard the man," Remus said with a hand gesture. "Go."

James made to stand and go with Sirius. Remus firmly held him down. "I don't think so, Prongs. You're messed up pretty badly. Why don't you stay here and let me heal some of your injuries? I promise Sirius'll be back as soon as possible."

James gingerly tapped his leg, drawing back with a wince. "That… might be a good idea."

Remus drew his wand and began to assess James' injuries while Sirius tore through the wood covering the staircase. He stopped at the top to listen for anything that would tell him where the two remaining members of the Potter family might be. Sure enough, he soon heard a small child whimpering from the nursery. He turned a corner and gasped. The entire room had been destroyed; it was a wonder that the floor still held together.

Over by the space where the door used to be, Sirius saw Lily lying, stiff as a board, with her fiery hair spread out around her. Harry sat next to her, Lily's sleeve gripped in his pudgy hand, eyes tearful.

He looked up at Sirius and his lip wobbled. "Mummy no get up," he told Sirius before breaking into wails.

Sirius scooped Harry up. "Hey, kid, don't cry. It's okay- Hold on, Harry. You've a cut on your forehead."

Sirius cleaned Harry's bleeding scar as best he could, wiping away the blood. "Well, that's strange," he murmured. "Got the shape of a lightning bolt, don't it?"

Harry now calmer, Sirius turned his attention to the woman on the floor.

She appeared dead, but Sirius decided to try his luck once more. "_Enervate._" No response. Desperately, he knelt down next to her, listening for a breath. After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, he heard one. Sighing with relief, Sirius conjured a stretcher. He gently levitated the unconscious woman onto it, and floated the whole thing down the stairs.

James was now resting with his head leaning up against the wall, and Remus was repairing some of the damage.

"Hey, look who I found," Sirius called, holding up Harry, but still managing to levitate Lily with the other hand.

James' face lit up, and he limped over to his family as fast as possible.

"Harry," he breathed, taking the small boy in his arms and hugging him tight to his chest. "You're okay. Thank Merlin." Then his focus shifted to Lily's body levitating behind Sirius. "No…" He choked out, "She can't be. Not Lily… She's not… Tell me she's not…" He turned to Sirius, tears forming in his hazel eyes.

"Prongs, she's going to be fine. I'm no expert, but I think Voldemort used a Dark spell on her. No lasting effects that I can tell, though. Only she doesn't respond to an Enervate."

"Thank Merlin…" Still cradling Harry to his chest, James slid back down to the floor. Looking up at his two best friends he managed a weak smile. "Damn, I still can't believe we got out alive."

"Alive," he whispered, the situation finally hitting him in full.

Sirius seemed to notice that James had been standing only after he sat down. "How were you standing? Didn't you just have a broken leg?"

"I _did_, but Moony here is quite the Healer."

The werewolf in raised an eyebrow at the pair. "It's an acquired skill," he said dryly. Then he turned back and continued moving some of the debris, trying to find things to salvage for his friends.

Sirius called over to him. "C'mon, Moony. Prongs has appeared to have mislaid his wand and I want to try _Enervating_ Lily with two people."

Just then, twelve men in dark blue robes burst into the hall.

The tallest one of the group stepped forward. "Sirius Black? You are under arrest for loyalty to Voldemort and the…" With a glance towards the occupants of the room, "attempted murder of the Potters."

The three men paled. Then began shouting at the same time.

"Does it _look_ like he's trying to murder me, you thickheaded prat?"

"What the bloody _hell_ are you going on about?"

"Oh, so _that's_ how you guys work. Leave us to _fight_ for our bloody lives, then you show up and accuse the wrong person. Great job!"

"_Silencio! Expelliarmus! Incarceous!_" screamed an Auror from somewhere in the back.

James, Remus, and Sirius all had murderous expressions on their faces, but as they were silenced, disarmed, and bound, there wasn't much that they could do. Harry who had been watching the argument now began to cry. The three men began to struggle even harder against their bonds so as to comfort the small boy. "You bad. Bad like the bad man who hurt mummy." Harry choked out, his green eyes wet with tears but bright with anger.

Stunned silence followed this remark; the Aurors looked amongst each other, unsure of what to do. Finally a young woman with bubblegum pink hair stepped forward from the back of the group; she had 4 white stripes on her shirtsleeve, indicating she was a trainee Auror in her first year. The woman bent down and scooped up the little boy whose crying seemed to immediately settle, as she gently jiggled him up and down.

The Aurors then Stunned Sirius, cut his ropes, then levitated him out the door, followed by the spell caster and speaker, then by the rest of the group minus the lady comforting Harry who assured them that she would meet them back at HQ. A Healer that had gone unnoticed before came up to the group and undid James and Remus' ropes, giving Remus back his wand. Before she gave them their voices back, however, she had a speech of her own.

"My name is Healer Jones. Now, I'm very sorry that it had to come to that, but you showed no signs of cooperating. Personally, I agree with you, so don't get all huffy with me, but there's no way a dozen experienced Aurors would listen to a Healer. And now that _that's_ over with, I'm going to transport you to St. Mungo's." She paused here and pulled a rusty tin out of her pocket. "This is your Portkey. Before you ask, Mr. Potter, your wife and son should be fine for travelling. Mr. Lupin…" she eyed the werewolf with distaste. "_You_ can either stay here or at the… _werewolf_ unit in St. Mungo's." The young Auror had looked up and was staring incredulously at the Healer.

"Is that really necessary?" she asked scathingly.

The Healer looked at the stripes on her arm and asked curtly, "Did I ask for your opinion?"

She turned back to the two men. "Any questions? Ah yes, I'll need to give you back your voices before you can answer that."

Healer Jones performed the counter charm with a flourish of her wand.

James immediately rounded on her, before Remus even got a chance to say anything. "How dare you, you prejudiced little bitch? The full moon isn't even for two weeks! I can tell you where Remus'll be. He'll be by my family's side like the friend and human being he is, not locked up in some room because of something he can't control!"

Remus laid a hand on James' shoulder. "Listen, mate, it's fine. I don't mind, really."

James threw it off. "No. You know what; it is bloody well _not_ okay. Remus goes where the Potters go, got it, _Healer_?"

Healer Jones nodded quickly, slightly frightened by the raging man. "Alright. Sure, whatever you need. Now, this portkey will take you, your family, and ah, Mr. Lupin, directly to St Mungos." James snatched the portkey from her in disgust. The healer took that as her cue to leave and all but ran through the door in the direction of the Aurors.

The young Auror tentatively cleared her throat and the two men both turned to look at her. "Uhmm…" She began nervously, "I just --- Well --- What I mean to say is that , er, Mr Lupin... I am really sorry you have to be subjected to that sort of prejudice and that it is wrong because you seem like a really great guy." Both men looked at her questioningly and she blushed, her hair turning a fiery red to match her cheeks much to Harry's delight. "Well of course I-I wouldn't know that since I don't know you… Not that I wouldn't _want_ to know you because you seem nice and kind… And…" She looked up to find James smirking at her, clearly amused by her predicament; she didn't dare look past him at Remus… "Okay…" She let out a deep breath, "I... am going to... er, leave now." And she quickly handed James the little boy who called out a cheery goodbye as she Apparated away.

After sending Remus a sly wink, and receiving a punch for his efforts, James pulled Lily into his arms and touched their hands to the Portkey, then convinced Harry to do the same.

"Three… Two… One…"

And as the Portkey took off, Number Seven, Godric's Hollow, was left silent and deserted on All Hallows Eve.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! I'm SO sorry this was late, but don't kill me! This chapter was harder to write than the first two, and Sophie's hard drive crashed, so please let me know how you think it turned out. Thanks to all reviewers, and here's some incentive to review. I reply to ALL reviews, so if you have a question, I WILL answer it to the best of my ability. Also, you get a pissed off Lily set on you if you don't... ; )

Enjoy Chapter 3!

-Ariana

Several days had passed. For the Potters, at least the conscious ones, it had been a constant blur of potions, healing spells, and being fussed over by Healers. James had taken Harry on his lap and they were sitting at Lily's bedside, waiting for even the slightest change.

Remus, who had been with them the whole time, approached holding a couple mugs of tea. "Any change?" he asked, handing one to James.

James shook his head miserably. "Nah. And Harry has hardly said a word since… Well, you know. The attack."

"Don't worry, mate. I'm sure he's just a bit disoriented, and misses Lily. He'll come around."

"I hope."

There was a knock at the door. "I swear, if that's another potion I have to take…" growled James.

"I promise you, I'm no potion," smiled Sirius as he came into the small room, followed by Dumbledore. "Guess what? I'm cleared. Mainly thanks to this guy here. I swear, you haven't seen scary till you've seen him mad."

James set Harry down on the bed next to his mother. "That's wicked! What's on the parchment? A declaration from Fudge that he is a first rate moron?" he joked, going across the room to talk to his friend. Remus followed curiously.

"Well, not exactly…" Sirius said guiltily. "Well, er the thing is… Uhmm… I need to borrow fifty Galleons?"

"And why would you need fifty Galleons?"

"Because uhmm... It's a fine. I, er, cursed the Minister's ears onto the Statue of Magical Brethren. The house elf's bum, to be exact."

James and Remus stared at him, eyebrows slowly rising simultaneously.

Sirius realized how that sounded. "I mean, it was an accident. I just kinda gestured with my wand at him and it happened. They fined me when I couldn't change it back."

A groan from the bed. "Just use a simple Switching Spell. That should do it."

"Lily! You're awake!"

As the three men chattered, Harry gripped his mother's pale hand in both of his own. "Wake up, Mummy," he whispered desperately. "Miss you."

And before a pair of stunned blue eyes, the connection point between mother and child glowed with a pale gold light. Wind whistled around the young boy's head and rustled the bed covers. Unnoticed by the trio of friends near the door, strands of pure magic slowly wrapped around Lily and faded into her. One hand twitched. Then another. Then Lily raised an arm. She blinked, covering her eyes from the florescent light. She groaned loudly as she listened to the men's conversation. "Just use a simple Switching Spell. That should do it."

Harry smiled sleepily. "Mummy awake." Then his eyes closed and he fell to sleep on Lily's stomach.

Sirius, James, and Remus hurried over to the redhead. James enthusiastically leaned over and kissed his wife. It slowly deepened as both got lost in the moment. Their fantasy was, however, interrupted when Sirius tapped them both on the shoulder. "Er, Prongs? Lily? I'm not sure if this is the best time to give Harry a little brother or sister."

The young couple blushed, slightly embarrassed. James cleared his throat. "Right. Er, Lily? I'll come back to that later."

"You better."

Remus slowly raised a hand. "I have something to say."

"If it's about what me and my wife do other than sleep at night, you can stuff it, Moony."

"No, no. It's just… I want to apologize to Sirius for thinking he's the traitor," Remus said with a glance at the Animagus in question.

Sirius slapped Remus on the back. "Same here, buddy. There, however,_ is_ some business we have to take care of. We need to induct Peter _out_ of the Marauders. Do we all remember the ceremony?"

"Yes, Padfoot, you only made us practice it ten times a night for seven years."

Sirius missed the sarcasm. "Very well. I, Sirius Padfoot Potter-"

"Potter?"

"Learn to love it, my friend. I, Sirius Padfoot Potter, hereby wish to erase Peter Wormtail Pettigrew from the ranks of the fine establishment of the Marauders, on accusations of being a little shit. Doth thou agree, my fellows? All who wish, say 'I'. "

"I."

"I."

"And so we are whittled down to three."

Lily pouted. "What about me?"

Sirius patted her hand sympathetically. "Sorry love, but Marauder Code of Conduct states that only males shall be a Marauder."

"We don't have a code of conduct, though."

"Shut it, Moony. We do now."

"Oh, that's rich."

Dumbledore, who had been watching the exchanges with an air of amusement, took a stride towards Lily and James. "Mr. and Mrs. Potter? May I have a word?" He looked around at Remus and Sirius. "Alone?"

James bit his lip. "What about?"

"Harry."

Lily shook her head, holding the aforementioned child tightly. "They'll stay, then. After all, Sirius is his godfather and Remus would be too, if not for his furry little problem."

Sirius and James both frowned at the mention of that, both of them thinking back to the borderline violent argument they had lost with the people in the Birth Registry Department over the issue.

Dumbledore sighed and conjured several chairs. "Very well. I warn you, this will be a lot of information to take in, and I must ask that you not interrupt. Please sit, as this may take some time."

The four nodded, Sirius conjured himself a chair and they all sat back, waiting for the old wizard to speak.

After a moment of silent thought Dumbledore began, "First, I have a question for Mrs. Potter. While you were unconscious, did you notice anything right before you woke up?"

Lily was surprised. "Well, er, not really. I saw a bit of light, but I was awake by the time I had really processed it."

A nod. "That bit of light was your son. Harry made a wish for you to awaken, and must have accidentally channeled magic along to you, causing a spark in your brain and a speedy ride to consciousness."

Five sets of eyes turned to the small black-haired boy who was curled up against his mother's side.

The old man continued. "I believe that on the night of the attack it was this magic that saved Harry's life. There is no doubt that Voldemort went there intending for him to die. And the scar on his forehead, the one that cannot be magically healed, it is no mere cut. It is a curse scar and he will have it forever. I have a theory that somehow, Harry was able to realize the danger he was in and he used this magic as a protection. I am not entirely sure how, but he managed to stop the Killing Curse from doing what it was designed to do."

All four of them gasped after Dumbledore's little monologue. James and Lily both looked astounded at their small son. Was it possible?

Dumbledore sighed resignedly. "Alas, there is more I must tell you. I trust you are all familiar with the art of Divination?"

James frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Dumbledore glanced in his direction. "Patience, my boy. I'll get there soon. This past summer, I was looking for an applicant to fill the newly appointed post of Divination Professor. The woman I was interviewing was descended from a great, widely known Seer, so I thought it wise to go to her, though I had great doubt concerning her abilities. This woman's name was Sybil Trelawney. After I had asked her some questions, I determined that she wouldn't be right for the position, and stood to leave. Only a moment before I opened the door to go, Ms. Trelawney went into a trance of sorts. She proceeded to tell me a_ true_ prophecy before my very eyes. However, halfway through, the barman came into the room, hauling with him an eavesdropper. The eavesdropper, a servant of Voldemort, was Severus Snape. Severus went to his master and told him everything he had heard so far. "

Here, James, Sirius and surprisingly Remus, who was usually able to control his emotions, jumped out of their seats, fists clenched, faces set in an expression of anger and loathing. James spoke for all of them, "The bastard! If it's the last thing I do, I'll kill him! I'll kill him for putting my family in danger!"

Dumbledore stood as well, in an attempt to calm the wizards. "Boys, there is more to the story. Severus was unaware that Voldemort would interpret the prophecy to be about the Potters. As soon as he did find out, he came to me, wanting to help. That was when I suggested it would be best if you were to go into hiding."

James once more interrupted. "But what did this… _prophecy_ say?"

"I am so, _so_ very sorry for what you about to hear. The prophecy states that a child would be born to a couple who had defied Voldemort three times. It states that he would have 'the power the Dark Lord knows not.' It… also states that neither can live while the other survives."

"But that… That means…"

"Harry is the child that the prophecy was concerning."

"No, no, no. You're wrong. You're _wrong_!"

"Mrs. Potter. Lily. Please hear me out; I know this must be hard for you, but you _need_ to know this. What Harry has demonstrated, reviving you... That was a bit of magic that would have proved impossible for most fully trained wizards; even I cannot control a magical energy transfer like that. I believe that Harry will be one of the most powerful wizards in history. Your boy will most likely have to battle Voldemort, for he was not, in my opinion, fully defeated three nights ago. Merely separated from his powers, Voldemort will return. When, how, and where, I do not know, but he _will _return."

Lily was shaking. James, jaw set, put his arm around her in an attempt to comfort her. Sirius and Remus looked as though they had been slapped in the face.

Dumbledore surveyed the four, then sighed. "Lily. James. I need to know if you would agree to me raising Harry at Hogwarts, training him for the upcoming war and making sure he's ready to face Voldemort when the time comes."

James looked halfway amused and halfway pissed off at this. His expression was one that clearly said, 'Big mistake, old man'. He cocked his head slightly towards his frozen wife. Lily's eyes slowly narrowed, and her hands clenched into fists. The three Marauders all surreptitiously moved away from the furious witch, James taking Harry in one arm while the other lowered to protect his genital region, the other men mirroring this action out of years of practice. It all happened very fast. One moment Lily was frozen on the bed her face contorted in rage, the next she was out of the hospital be standing at her full 5'4" staring up at Dumbledore her green eyes locked with his blue.

"Let me get this straight. You wish to bring my _fifteen month old baby_ to a school and raise him away from his parents to be sent off INTO WAR?!!! YOU MANIPULATING, ROTTEN CRETIN!!! NO ONE COULD TURN OUT RIGHT AFTER BEING RAISED LIKE THAT!!! HARRY'S LIFE WILL BE HARD ENOUGH WITHOUT YOU WRECKING IT EVEN FURTHER!!! I WILL NOT HAND OVER MY CHILD SO YOU CAN RAISE HIM TO BE YOUR PAWN IN A WAR AGAINST THE DARKEST WIZARD THAT EVER LIVED!!!" Lily was breathing heavily as though she had just run five miles, hand raised a hand as though to strike the headmaster.

Slowly lowering it, she took Harry from James, comforting the small boy who had woken up from the screaming and was whimpering, wanting his mother.

Dumbledore bowed his head. "Of course, Mrs. Potter. I— apologize for my intentions. I can see myself out." Dumbledore walked out of the hospital room quickly, robes billowing behind him.

The three Marauders shot each other a meaningful glance as they slowly moved out of their protective stances. The look was one that they had shared many a time at school. It was their 'This would be cool in a different situation, but right now it blows' look. Sirius glanced around cautiously checking for any Healers that may have been hanging around. "Why Harry though? Of all the children to be born at the end of the seventh month, why did he choose Harry?" he asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

Remus bit his lip, ignoring his friends ponderings. "Lily? Prongs? What kind of accidental magic would Harry do on a normal basis?" he inquired.

James frowned. "Well, he could Summon things as big as the grandfather clock, levitate himself, Lily and me… He could Transfigure small objects into other objects, and he could change things' colors."

By the time James had finished, Sirius was gaping at him openly. "What?" asked James defensively. "It's true!"

Remus placed a hand on James' shoulder. "And you didn't find any of this… _odd_?"

Realization dawned on the couple. "So… Harry's powers aren't normal?" asked Lily weakly.

Sirius stared at them incredulously. "Of _course_ they're not normal! I thought he was just doing stuff like levitating a toy he might want; things like that!"

"Well, how were we _supposed_ to know it wasn't normal? Obviously, we can't remember from when _we_ were that young, James is an only child, and you_ all_ know full well I'm Muggle-born with a Muggle sister. We didn't have any idea that Harry was more powerful than the average child!" Lily hissed.

Sirius held up his hands. "Okay, I'm sorry. But if Dumbledore was right about Harry being powerful then there's bound to be a good chance that he's right about everything else."

A long silence followed this remark. Lily bit her lip. James and her exchanged glances.

The silence was broken by Lily, who, still looking into her husband's eyes said quietly, "He's going to have such a hard life. The Wizarding world will see him as some sort of hero. He won't be able to do anything like a normal child. He'll grow up knowing that all that's in his future is some psycho. I can't let my son grow up that way." she moaned, wringing her hands.

James placed his hand lovingly on his wife's cheek. "Lily, sweetheart, I promise you, Harry will not be held back because of this. He is going to be able to grow up like a normal little boy. We can move away where no one can bother us. We can teach him how to ride a bike, play Quidditch, pull pranks… He will not suffer because of some stupid prophecy!"

It was on that day, in that hospital room that those four friends made a vow. They swore that they would, to the best of their abilities, help in any way to give Harry normality and stability and anything else that would help him to grow up just like everyone else.

That day they all swore to each other that "Harry Potter would be a normal child."


	4. Chapter 4

It had been 3 days since their meeting with Dumbledore and since then the four adults had been unable to find a moment alone to discuss what they were going to do. Healers had been doing endless tests on Lily, all of them desperately wanting to be the one that was able to discover the secret behind her miraculous recovery. It was on the fourth day that the restless adults decided to take action. The opportunity arose when a strangely familiar woman bustled into their room.

"Hello there Mrs. Potter, I'm just here to have a look over your vital signs and run some tests," said Healer Jones.

James stood up. "That won't be necessary, Healer. Someone's just come in and pronounced us all fine. We're just waiting for our transportation to arrive. I believe they said something about the Ministry providing a Portkey? Oh, and they are going to arrange it via the Auror Department, you know, for security reasons."

The stout woman stared at James shrewdly. "What was the Healer's name?"

James didn't miss a beat. "Healer Adams."

This didn't seem to satisfy Healer Jones. But then she flinched as though absorbing a spell. "Oh, right. Healer Adams. Yes. He's a wonderful man. Fantastic healer. I'll just call the Ministry for you now and have them bring that Portkey over, straight away." She then curtseyed, swiftly turned on her heel and exited the hospital room.

All heads turned to look at Sirius, who was laughing quietly to himself.

"What did you two do?" asked Lily resignedly.

"Well, when Prongsie here set up the opportunity, I Confunded her."

"You did _what_?! You CAN'T just Confund people on a whim!"

"Lily, Lily, Lily. Would you like to leave the hospital at all this month? Or do you enjoy being poked and prodded by strangers?"

"Well, of course not, but that's not the point. You—"

"—did what I had to do to get out of this place," Sirius finished the redhead's sentence.

Lily shook her head. "Fine."

They were rattled out of their discussion by a loud crash in the hall. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Here, let me…" If possible, there was a louder thud. "Oh no! Merlin, I- Ugh, let's just… I'll go around you, then." The vibrant-haired woman from Godric's Hollow poked her head around the door before walking in.

She glanced around the room, blushing when she looked at Remus, before settling on Lily. "I'll presume you're Mrs. Potter?"

Lily nodded, smiling at the woman. "Call me Lily. Pleased to meet you."

"Alright, Lily. I'm Tonks, and I'm part of the Auror guard that will be escorting you out of the hospital." At everyone's confused look, she explained further. "Word's spread of how you all survived the attack and how Voldemort is out of commission. You're famous, especially Harry. People'll be mobbing you to get pictures; they'll want to be with you. It gets crazy. So, you'll have some Aurors around you."

Harry, who had been almost consistently asleep for the last few days, slowly opened his eyes, looking between the two women. When he saw Tonks, his eyes lit up, and he struggled a bit in Lily's hold. "To'ks!"

Tonks chuckled. "So, I guess he remembers me."

James and Sirius laughed along with her. Lily just looked confused. "Have we met before?" she queried.

Tonks shook her head. "I was part of the group of Aurors that came to Godric's Hollow on Halloween. Harry took quite a liking to me, apparently."

"Ah."

Tonks checked her watch. "We should be going. The rest of the guard should be in the hall."

They proceeded out of the small room, looking with apprehension at the large group of Aurors standing next to the door. One of them, a tall man with dark brown hair, held up a rusty tin. "Here's your Portkey," he said tersely. "Where do you want it to go?"

Remus stepped forward. "My flat. Fifty-four Anson Street in Hogsmeade."

The man nodded after looking towards the Potters for confirmation. "Now, there are wards in this hall so that patients can't leave magically, in case they're not ready to be discharged. We'll have to go down to the lobby, which is where the crowd'll be. You are to stay behind us. We think it would be best for Mrs. Potter to stay with the child, James, Sirius, Remus. Wands out, just in case, surround Mrs. Potter and then we'll surround you. We will activate the Portkey when we get past the wards. Clear?"

Everyone nodded. "Good. Let's go. No use in stalling."

As the group came around the corner into the hall, round after round of screaming and applause hit their ears. The Aurors hurriedly pushed through the crowd, ignoring the calls from the gathered people.

"James! James! Remember me? It's Mandy! From Hogwarts! Third year, we went out! What d'you say we catch up some, eh?"

"Lily, could we please hold Harry? Only a minute! Please?!"

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter? My name is Cindy Anderson; I work for the Daily Prophet! I'd like to interview you—"

The tall Auror whipped out the tin. "_Portus_!" he hissed. The tin glowed blue. He held it out for the Potters, Sirius, and Remus. "On my count. Three, two, one…" The six instantly felt as though something was pulling them from behind their navel, and they felt their feet leave the ground.

A few seconds later, they landed with a thump in Remus's sitting room. The Auror that had come with them inclined his head. "If there's anything else I can do?"

Lily smiled weakly. "Oh, no. It's fine. We're good from here."

He nodded. "I'll be stationed right outside the property. Protective wards are being set up around it as we speak. Let me know if I'm needed." The man swept out of the room, pausing before shutting the door, turning back and addressing the young people. "That monster killed my wife. Thank you for ridding us of him." And with that he left the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

James sank down onto an armchair. Lily squeezed in beside him, holding Harry on her lap. Sirius and Remus collapsed on the couch. Silence reigned for a few minutes before being broken by Sirius.

"So…. What are we going to do?"

"Well, we do have to figure out the technicalities. Where Lily and I are going to live, training for Harry, stuff like that," James said, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand.

Lily's eyes lit up as she thought of an idea. "James, didn't your mum and dad leave us the manor?"

James nodded, catching on. "Yeah, the one in Earlswood. Great idea! It's plenty big, it's got land for training… and Quidditch…" – Lily raised an eyebrow – "… And Moony and Padfoot here can even live there too! It's not like we need the extra space or anything."

Remus held up a hand. "Really, Prongs, that's not necessary; I wouldn't want to intrude—"

"Rubbish," said James, waving down the shorter man's protests. "We don't mind."

Lily nodded earnestly. "Not at all. We'd love to have you... And I've a feeling we're going to need you." She added, glancing down at Harry, who was happily concentrating on making the fire poker spin in mid air.

"Right, then. Ah… Harry's training?"

Sirius raised a hand quickly. "Yes, Padfoot?"

Sirius glanced around at his friends. "Well, what type of thing are we going to train him in anyway? Sports, dueling, what?"

The other three considered for a bit. "Well, after what Dumbledore said, I think he needs to learn basic magic, although of course, he's already doing that. And then as he gets older maybe more advanced Defense and dueling. Oh! And we have to teach him Quidditch!" reasoned James. He turned to his wife, adding sheepishly: "And then some Muggle stuff too. What sorts of Muggle activities would be useful?"

Lily thought for a moment. "Hmm. Well, maybe football. We could do endurance training too. Running and the like would be good. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves. Harry's not even two yet! That being said, about school—"

James quietly sniggered. Lily's head snapped around. "Yes, _dear_? Did you have something to add?" she asked in a falsely sweet tone.

James gulped. "Uh, no, Lily, you just go on with what you were going to say. I, ah, I'm sure it'll be very… enlightening and valued?" he finished with a hopeful smile.

"Good save. Perhaps I won't make you sleep on the sofa tonight," Lily teased her husband. "Anyway, I was going to suggest that Harry go to Muggle primary school. I know there's the one in Surrey. It's close enough that it wouldn't be a problem, and it's got a great reputation for having brilliant teachers. What do you guys think?"

Remus smiled at her. "That sounds lovely, Lily."

Sirius gaped at his friend. "Why does Harry have to go to school, though? Can't we home-school him?"

Remus sighed. "Sirius. If he goes to school, Harry'll have a chance to interact with kids his own age. Make some friends. You know. Like a _normal_ kid."

"Oh, I get it now. That_ is_ a good idea."

"Are my ideas anything else?"

Lily stood, scooping up her son. "Remus? Is there somewhere I can put Harry down for the night? It's getting rather late for him. And there are things we need to discuss that might generate foul language. I don't want Harry picking up on anything… unsavory."

Remus nodded. "Straight down the hall, second door to the right. There are a few things I had picked up just in case you ever needed to stay here."

Lily nodded, cooing to the small boy in her arms. She walked slowly to the room Remus had told her about. Opening the door, Lily found a small wooden cot in the corner, the walls were painted a dark red and an old looking chest that she suspected held several toys. Setting Harry down in the cot, she used her wand to lower the lights.

With one last glance to make sure everything was in order, Lily walked back out into the sitting room. The loving expression she always got on her face while with her son disappeared, to be replaced with cold neutrality. As she entered the room she found her husband and their two best friends huddled together, their faces mirroring hers.

"Peter." The one word that had been echoing through all their minds since last week's tragedy that had almost torn them apart.

"What about him? As far as I'm concerned he no longer exists." Sirius clearly wanted nothing to do with the man who had been like his brother only a week ago.

"I think we all feel that way. The only problem, however, is that he does exist, no matter how little he deserves it, and we need to put up wards against him. In his human form and as a rat."

"Can we even do that?"

"Well, that's where we're kind of lucky. Before all this happened, I was doing some research for the Order on special, personalized wards to keep known Death Eaters out. I'd figured out how to do it and I had a meeting with Dumbledore planned for the next Order meeting, but it never happened, obviously. That's probably good though, because now I'm the only one who knows how to do it, in the unlikely, but possible, case of another traitor."

James smiled smugly at his two friends. "That's my wife and you can't have her," he boasted jokingly.

The men all chuckled good heartedly.

"So, Lils, can you teach us how to do this? We need to put them up, against Worm- _Pettigrew_, at all properties connected to us as well. And we can also use the wards that prevent anyone with a Dark Mark entering."

"Sure," said Lily. "It's not even very difficult, probably sixth year level, maybe NEWT. The incantation is _Atrum Vernula Haud Penetro_,accompanied bya swishing half-circle and downward spiral, then a slash to the right." Demonstrating, Lily confidently performed the charm. An orb of blue light expanded quickly, enveloping the entire property.

James stood up purposefully. "Remus and I are going to go to the manor to help the Aurors put the wards on it, as well as any other defense spells we can think of. Sirius, stay here with Lily and Harry, okay?"

"Sure thing Prongsie, your wife will be fine with me," replied Sirius, shooting Lily a playful wink, for which he received a very unladylike gesture in return.

James and Remus both laughed at the two before striding out of the flat.

A comfortable silence descended upon the friends left behind until out of nowhere, Lily started giggling. Then it turned into a laugh, which morphed into hysterics and tears. Sirius leapt of his seat and went over to comfort her. "Lily? Are you okay?"

Lily nodded slowly. "I'm- I'm fine, it's just…. I… Sirius, look around you! Would you believe, if in sixth year, someone told you what would be happening now? That in five years, I'd be married to James with a child, and we'd all be sitting around Remus's flat after being betrayed by that little bastard named Peter and surviving an attack by Voldemort? It's just been like something from another world, and it all is just so… It's just unreal. Where do we go now? How do we explain to Harry that he has to fight an evil wizard with immense powers? I can't understand why this has to happen to us! What did we do?"

"Lily, don't cry. You haven't done anything… I don't know why all of this is happening but it won't do any good if you start blaming yourself. Harry's going to have a normal childhood… Well, as normal as possible with all of us around. But Lils, you've gotta admit it could be much worse. Everyone is still alive and as well as could be expected, and we're still together. Things will be difficult but we'll get through."

Lily stared at Sirius in disbelief. "Wow, Sirius, that was rather profound."

"I resent the surprise in your tone."

She sighed deeply, and they both lapsed back into silence, each of them thinking of the new lifestyle they would have to develop. They knew it would be hard, but it would be possible, and they had to think that way. For Harry's sake.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five, at long last. Six is under construction.

And I think you'll notice that this chapter's quite a bit longer than the others. ;)

**Bold **text indicates that this line is from the books.

Disclaimer- Not mine. Except for Andy, Mrs. Miller, and the other various OCs.

* * *

"James. _James._ JAMES!" Twenty-six year old Lily Potter shook her husband awake, five year old son in one arm.

"Whassa matter?" James Potter asked groggily, eyes slowly focusing on the redheaded woman. "Oh, hullo, dear. I'll be going back to sleep now."

"Oh no you don't!" Lily pulled her wand out of her pocket. "Aguamenti!"

James shot up, having just been doused with icy water. "Lily! What's the big deal? And why so early? It's only seven."

Harry, a small boy with jet black hair and emerald eyes, bounced excitedly in Lily's hold. "Daddy! It's the first day of school!"

James gasped. "Today?! I thought that today was Sunday." He looked down at his watch. "Stupid Sirius. He's charmed my watch to say the wrong day! I should've realised… He knows I need this watch to remind myself of the days," he muttered to himself.

Reluctantly, he dragged himself out of bed. "Sorry, Lils. Is there anything I can get ready?"

His wife shook her head. "No, just go have some breakfast. There's fruit and toast on the table. I just need to remind Harry of the rules we follow around Muggles, then we'll leave."

After a quick kiss with Lily (prompting a disgusted exclamation from Harry), James left the room. Lily set Harry down on the bed, kneeling at his eye level. "Now Harry, remember. Everyone around you is going to be a Muggle. That means no talking about anything Wizard or magic related, all right, sweetie? If you get overly emotional and think you might have a fit of accidental magic, I want you to do what?"

Harry smiled. "Ask my teacher if I can use the loo, and stay there 'til I calm down, right Mummy?"

"Exactly. You might not be able to stop it in time, and that's all right. Just act like nothing happened, and pretty soon, everyone will forget about it, okay?" An eager nod. "If the teacher asks you what your mummy and daddy work as, what are you going to say?"

"I'll say my mummy doesn't work, and my daddy is a sports coach."

"Good boy. Are you ready to go? Do you have your book bag?"

"Yes, Mummy." Harry held up a red and gold striped bag.

"Wonderful. Let's collect your father, and we'll leave."

* * *

As the two walked down the main stairway of the grand Potter Manor, they spotted James in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and just polishing off an apple. He tossed the core in the rubbish bin. "Ready?"

Lily nodded and Harry beamed excitedly. "Okay, then. Lils, shall we set off?"

"Yes, Harry's got all his things ready and we don't want to be late."

"Okay then little man, let's get going. School's waiting for you." James walked past his wife and son, guiding them to the front door which he held open for them. After locking the door James turned and beamed at his family, taking his small son's other hand and they all set off for Little Whinging County Primary School.

Potter Manor lay on the outskirts of Earlswood, Surrey. A regal looking house set in pristine grounds and surrounded by tall, majestic English oak trees, it was the envy of all the other residents in the area, and only a short twenty minute walk from the primary school. The Potter family arrived at the one-level red brick building with plenty of time to spare. Little Harry Potter was unusually quiet as he clutched his father's leg as they entered the small, bright room.

James looked down at his son, in his tiny uniform and hoisted him up onto his hip; the young boy seemed to take comfort in this as the Potters approached an exasperated blonde woman who had just collapsed into a chair behind the teacher's desk.

"Rough morning?" Lily asked sympathetically.

"You've no idea. Car broke down on the motorway, I was late, then I got the joy of coming in to find that the office had directed another class to my room and riots had begun… It's been a mess." The woman groaned, and then looked up, appearing startled to see who she was talking to. "Oh, but where are my manners? I'm Mrs. Miller. Who is this charming young man?" she asked kindly, smiling maternally at Harry.

"This is Harry, our son," said James, nudging Harry gently to make him look up at the teacher.

Mrs. Miller scanned over her roster. "Harry Potter?"

"Yes." Harry said quietly, clearly shy.

"Then you must be Lily and James." They shook hands. Mrs. Miller gestured to Harry. "He's adorable."

Harry beamed at that and said in a small voice, "Thank you." This sent the adults into peals of laughter with Lily commenting, "He spends too much time with his dad and uncles!" Once the hilarity of the moment had subsided, Lily smiled brightly at the teacher and asked, "Could you tell us, if it's not too much trouble, where everything is located? Gym, lunchroom, all that?"

"Of course," replied Mrs. Miller. "I actually have a map-"

"Excuse me. _Excuse_ me!" Another blonde, but taller and thinner than stoutly Mrs. Miller, pushed her way past Lily without so much as a cursory glance towards any of the Potters. "I've been waiting for ten minutes behind that lot, and I so happen to be on a tight schedule, as is my husband, who _is_, if you please," she looked around, checking that all the parents were listening before she continued, "… _the_ junior _manager_ of the esteemed Grunnings Drill Company." She gestured sharply to a walrus-like man behind her, who was holding the hand of a tubby boy. He was whining loudly.

"Daddy! I _want_ to go _play_! This _line_ is _boring_." He stamped his foot impatiently.

"Alright, champ, let's go then," said the man with a chuckle. They left for the toy chest in the corner.

"We just want to get our son situated, and then we have to leave. So, kindly show me my son's materials."

By now, Lily was fuming. Seeing this, James quickly took Harry aside to find his table. He never failed to be upset when his mother got angry.

Mrs. Miller, who had dealt with snobby parents before, didn't lose her composure. "Ma'am, I have them right here. However, I would appreciate it if you didn't cut in front of other families."

The woman rolled her eyes, snatched the bag from Mrs. Miller, and turned to leave, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw Lily.

"Lily?" she whispered haltingly.

Lily was equally shocked, but recovered first. She pulled her sister to the side, out of range of the other curious parents. "Petunia! What are you doing here?" she hissed.

The blonde sniffed, regaining the little colour she had had. "I should be asking you." She regarded the younger woman's clothes suspiciously. "Where are your… _robes_?" Petunia asked harshly, spitting out the word like a bad taste in the mouth. Lily rolled her eyes, obviously ignoring the demand. Her sister ploughed on. "And why, pray tell, are you enrolling your spawn here anyway? Couldn't scrape together enough pounds to ship him off to a freak's school?"

The redhead bit her tongue; wanting to tell Petunia that with James' inheritance, they could've put Harry in any school they so chose. Instead, she went back to years past. "Freaks' school, eh, 'Tuney'? How often have you wished you were a 'freak'? Tell me, sister dear, any more letters to Dumbledore lately? Asking for your son's admittance this time?" Lily crossed her arms defiantly, ignoring Petunia's indignant sputtering.

"What… But how dare… In all my life… Never…" Finally, she seemed to run out of steam. She marched over to her husband, telling him she'd wait in the car, before storming out of Mrs. Miller's classroom in a huff.

* * *

James was with Harry, admiring his desk, and pondering with the boy who he'd be sitting with.

"Dad, who was that mean looking woman who Mum was talking to? She made Mum do her angry face…" Harry's emerald eyes were filled with concern behind his round glasses as he stared up into his father's face.

"Uh—that's just... a rude lady who pushed in front of Mum in the line, so... she's just... reminding her of her manners," lied James unconvincingly.

"Uncle Padfoot was right when he said you were bad at not telling the truth…"

"You spend too much time with your Uncle Padfoot."

Harry smiled innocently up at his father and James couldn't help but laugh quietly: his instinct told him that his son would be using those puppy-dog eyes a lot at school.

"Dad, look! Name cards! I'm sitting next to…" Harry adjusted his glasses and squinted. James frowned; they'd have to get the child a new pair. "…Piers Polkiss, I wonder who he is. Dad? Do you think he sounds nice?"

But James did not reply for he was distracted by another name card that he had spotted on the desk behind his son's. 'Dudley Dursley'.

The second James read that name, he froze. He'd only met Lily's horrid sister and her family once. The incident had involved accidental magic, a crashed set of good china, and a very angry cat. If memory served, the Dursleys had walked out after Whiskers had tried to hide by clawing his way up Vernon's suit.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Harry, I'm sure Piers is a great kid. But why don't you go and find out for yourself. There's a whole group of boys over there, maybe Piers is one of them. Why don't you go and say hello?"

Harry looked nervously at his dad for a moment but then he turned and walked confidently over to the other boys. James watched his son's retreating back for a second, marvelling at the way he had stood up to his nerves, before turning and pushing his way into the crowd, looking for Lily.

There she was, making her way over to him. "We have a problem," they both said at the same time.

Lily sighed. "Please tell me you're not thinking what I am."

James held up Dudley's nametag with a grim smile on his face. His wife groaned. "I believe I am."

* * *

"Now, roll call. It's the first day of school, so we're going to get to know each other. See those numbers on your cards? Well, when I call yours, tell the class your name and one interesting thing about yourself."

Everyone nodded.

"Good. Number one?"

A boy with blonde hair and brown eyes stood. "Hi, I'm Jeremy Basker, and I have two cats and a dog."

"Very nice, Jeremy. Number two?"

"Danny's not here. He's got the flu," piped up a skinny boy.

"Poor thing. You are his twin brother?"

"Yeah. I'm Andy Cassidy, and one interesting thing about me is that I have an iden… ident…"

"Identical twin?" asked Mrs. Miller.

"Yeah," repeated Andy, sounding relieved. "We look alike."

"Wow, that's not very common," said Mrs. Miller. "Very cool. Four?"

"Dudley Dursley; I'm the best kid in this room," boasted the overweight child from the line.

"Now Dudley, you are all equal," Mrs. Miller admonished with a slight frown. "What's something else interesting about you?"

Dudley frowned as well, but went along with the woman. "Well, I have all fifteen of the Deluxe Mega-Man Exclusive Action Figures." Several boys looked on in near reverence at this, while Mrs. Miller smiled.

"There, you see? I'm sure those are lots of fun. Five?"

Harry was becoming more and more impatient as the list of students wore on. Monica Hopkins, Alex Jordan, Casey Liggins, Abby Parson and his neighbor, Piers Polkiss, all blended together as the early hour caught up with him. He only just noticed as the teacher called out, "Number fourteen?"

"Hi," Harry said, smiling around at his fellow classmates. "My name is Harry Potter and I like to… play sports."

Mrs. Miller smiled at the small boy, "That's lovely Harry, do you have a favourite sport?"

Harry's smile grew broader as he answered almost immediately, "Of course, I love Qu--- Uh, football, the most." He sat down again very quickly, his cheeks turning slightly pink as he mentally scolded himself for almost telling the secret about Quidditch to the Muggles… but his turmoil wasn't over yet.

"Mrs. Miller, how come you asked Harry another question? S'not fair, he's a stupid teacher's pet," remarked Dudley Dursley, who was still sulking about his earlier reprimand.

"Mr. Dursley, that is quite enough. We do not tolerate name calling in this class. I want you to go and sit in the naughty corner for five minutes and think about what you've done. Go on."

Harry looked up at Mrs. Miller after glancing back at a sullen Dudley, and smiled charmingly. "Don't worry Mrs. Miller, my dad and uncles always tell me that people who pick on you are just jealous."

Mrs. Miller fought to hide her smile. It was almost a shock to see this little boy subtly put the arrogant bully that Dudley was proving to be in his place. It was already proving impossible not to love the raven-haired child that sat in front of her.

However, as she looked back down at Harry, she had to mentally debate whether to punish him for his insinuating remark. But before she could reach a decision, he put up his small hand and asked in a quick voice whether he could use the bathroom. She consented immediately and Harry all but ran from the room.

Harry remembered passing a bathroom on his way into school that morning and luckily he managed to find it again, as he ran into one of the cubicles and locked the door behind him, fighting to suppress the strong waves of emotion he was feeling.

Harry tried to relax using the technique Lily had taught him. She had said it would help control his magic, so he put it to use. With great willpower, Harry held the outburst back, but he knew it wouldn't last forever. _That mean boy Dudley makes me really angry, even when he does silly little things… I really don't like him and he makes me use my magic, _he thought to himself, frowning quite a bit. _Dad will know what to do though; I've just got to avoid Dudley until the end of school._ He took another deep breath and the swirling wind that had filled the little bathroom disappeared.

When Harry returned to the classroom Mrs. Miller had just finished the rest of the students' introductions. He smiled brightly at her as he slipped back into his chair next to Piers, and started a quiet but animated conversation with the other boy.

The blonde teacher decided then that there was something mesmerising, almost magical, about the little raven-haired, emerald-eyed boy and that he was going to be an interesting student to have in the school.

Glancing to the back of the room, she scowled discreetly at the boy who she was forced to punish. She predicted that this boy was also going to be one to watch out for… Although it wouldn't be for good reasons. Leaning on her desk, she wrote a quick note and addressed it to the Dursleys', hoping that her quick intervention may influence the parents into establishing some form of discipline with their son, but remembering back to her confrontation this morning, she doubted it would do any good.

"Dudley, you can come back to your seat now," she called, "I want you to give this to your parents. And remember, we are all equal in this class and we _never_ pick on one another. Okay?"

The rotund boy nodded morosely and shuffled back to his seat, shoving the note into his pocket as he went. For the remainder of the day Dudley Dursley would stare daggers into the back of Harry Potter's chair, silently vowing to himself that he would get revenge on him, soon…

* * *

"I'm going to go pick him up! I swear it! Oh, _why_ didn't we home school him?"

Lily Evans-Potter was… worried, to say the least. Her husband, however, was simply amused. "Lils, Harry's been gone for maybe an hour. Nothing could have happened."

Lily wasn't convinced. "But what about Petunia's son? No doubt she's told him all sorts of horrible lies, of how magic's demonic, how you and I and sweet little Harry are evil. Freaks, though, more likely," she said bitterly. "What if the boy's the same way?"

James patted Lily's shoulder reassuringly. "It can't be that bad, Lily. He's only five, after all."

"I guess you're right, James."

Said man beamed. "There're the words I was looking for! Now, what say we wake up our roommates? I know they've just got back from their latest Quidditch match, but I'm in the mood to play some myself." Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, affectionately known as Moony and Padfoot, had recently taken quite a liking to the Tutshill Tornadoes, following their progress and going to every game.

There had been one last night, and the two had told the Potters not to wait up, that the match didn't even start till eleven.

"They're against the Harpies," Sirius had said excitedly. "It'll be a great match, they're both undefeated!"

James had nodded in mock distaste. "I wish you two would go for the Harpies," he had moaned sorrowfully. "They're so much more talented than the Tornadoes."

His friends hadn't spoken to him since.

James smiled and took out his wand. Lily raised her eyebrows. "When you get that look on your face, I leave the room," she said. "I'll make some tea."

James smiled and conjured a bucket of water. Sneaking up the stairs, he disappeared around the corner.

When Lily returned, tea tray on her arms, it was to find a dripping Sirius levitating James, who was howling with laughter. Close behind was Remus. Either James had spared him, or he'd had the sense to use a Drying Charm, for Remus wasn't wet at all.

In fact, he seemed quite amused, leading Lily to think it might have been the former. Sirius, sensing his friend's 'betrayal', turned on him.

Dumping James unceremoniously on the floor, he flicked his wand. Unbeknownst to him, Remus now had furry brown ears stocking out of his head. Sirius could be quite the actor when he wanted to...

"Shoot. Stupid wand," the dark haired man muttered convincingly. He shot a fake glare at Remus. "I'll get you later," he promised.

Lily smiled and rolled her eyes. Just another day at the Potter household.

* * *

Harry bit his tounge in concentration. With silent precision, he traced letters one by one, pencil carefully gripped in his hand.

H. A. R. R. Y.

The small boy leant back triumphantly, proudly regarding his work. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mrs. Miller bustling around, checking students' work. She paused to change Marcella's grip on her pencil, then spotted Harry. "Oh, are you finished already?" she asked.

Harry nodded with a shy smile and handed her his paper. The assignment was to write your name five times, with the purpose of seeing who was accustomed to writing, and who wasn't.

As Harry had taken only a few minutes, Mrs. Miller thought she would be seeing illegible scribbling.

On the contrary, however, Harry's handwriting was perfectly readable, and for a five year old, quite good. She smiled at him. "Very good, Harry. Have you practiced at home before?"

Harry nodded earnestly. "Mummy and Daddy worked with me on reading and writing three times a week since I was four."

"Well then, good for you. Full marks." Of course, she would have given credit to any child who gave their effort, but Harry's face lit up.

Mrs. Miller clapped her hands. "Okay, everybody. Pencils down and line up. We're going to head out for playtime."

The children immediately stood up and made a beeline for the door, bouncing impatiently on their heels. Mrs. Miller chuckled and strode to head the line. After a quick instruction to stay inside the playground walls, she opened the door and led the class out.

* * *

The playground was a marvel to Harry. Older kids, maybe ten, sat and chatted nonchalantly on stone benches. Two shrieking girls ran past, one trying to tag the other. A large group of Year Three boys were playing an intense game of British bulldog.

Distantly, he was aware of Mrs. Miller telling them that playtime was half an hour, and that if she was needed, she would be at the teachers' benches by the door the whole time. No sooner had she finished than two dozen children ran off in a fit of frenzied excitement.

Harry wandered around, drinking in the scene. As he passed around a tree, he came face to face with Andy, from class.

"Hi," Andy said, "You're Harry, right?"

"Yeah," Harry responded. "Andy?"

"Mhm. So, you said you play football? What's your favourite position?"

Harry froze, trying to remember what his mum had told him of muggle football. There was only one ball; it was played on foot... And goalies blocked either goal!

"I play goalie," said Harry. "I'm not very good though."

Andy beamed at him. "Really? Wow, so do I! Both my older brother and sister play football too, but my twin Danny's not into sports. He likes chess more, 'pparently it-" Andy broke off, eyes becoming wide and fearful. "Oh no."

Harry frowned. "Something wrong?"

"It's Dudley," the smaller boy said anxiously. "He and his friend Piers, the boy you sit next to, they live on the same street as me. They're really mean; last week they chased my family's new puppy around on bikes for an hour. He was so scared!"

Harry was shocked. This was his cousin? "But... Why would they do that?"

Andy, at this point, seemed incapable of finding words to put in his mouth. "I- I don't... Harry!"

Suddenly, a hand appeared on Harry's shoulder and spun him around. Dudley Dursley stared him in the face angrily, Piers at his side. "What'd you do that for, huh?"

"Do what?" Harry was genuinely confused.

"You know! You got me in trouble on purpose! It's all your fault; my mummy and daddy'll get you!"

Harry squared his shoulders, ignoring Andy's frantic tugging on his jacket sleeve.**"Oh yeah?" **he asked, temper flaring.**"Where are they then?"**

Dudley narrowed his already piggy eyes. "That's it!" He reached out, intending to grab Harry, but the other boy found he simply could not rein in his magic any longer.

With a noise like the ocean's roaring waves, it shoved Dudley and Piers back several feet, their hair whipping around their heads and clumps of grass flying through the air.

Andy let out a loud giggle at the sight of them flailing to regain their sense of balance. It was too loud, however, and did not go unnoticed. Dudley came lumbering back, and nearly had him by the collar before Harry could intervene.

**"Leave him alone! What's he ever done to you?" **the young boy shouted angrily. The violent wind that Harry had conjured suddenly stopped, and the air was still and eerily silent. The two bullies turned, sensing the unnatural calm.

Their eyes grew wide as they lay eyes on Harry. His face was a mask of fury and the ground under his feet had begun to visibly shake. Suddenly, a shockwave burst out across the ground, knocking both bullies off their feet and shaking leaves out of the towering oak tree next to them. Dudley and Piers fled the scene as fast as their little legs could carry them, leaving an amazed Andy and panting Harry behind.

Andy turned to his new friend. "Wow, what was that?"

Harry's face betrayed a flash of fear. "What? Them falling over?"

"And the thing before, with Dudley and Piers getting pushed back! You didn't touch either of them, but they both nearly fell down!" Andy was ecstatic. "It was wicked! How'd you do it?" he asked eagerly.

A thousand different thoughts flew through Harry's mind, and he stammered out the first thing that came to his lips. "I didn't mean it to happen... It just did, I guess," he said nervously.

"Can you teach me?"

"No!" The black-haired boy winced. That had been a bit harsh. He tried again. "I mean, sorry. I can't."

Andy frowned, but then smiled. "That's alright, I guess. Could you at least show me again?"

Harry shook his head ruefully. "No. Like I said, I don't even know what it is myself." Silently, he prayed for the other boy to believe his lie.

Slowly, Andy nodded. "Okay," he said, disappointed but with an air of acceptance surprised the young wizard.

Harry was starting to believe that maybe it wouldn't be to hard to keep his secret from Andy. After a minute, he broke into a relived grin.

"So," he said. "Let's see if you can teach me how to be a goalie."


	6. Chapter 6

Hi all, thanks for your patience on this chapter. Work on chapter seven has begun, that is the chapter in which you will see Harry starting Hogwarts.

**Bolded text indicates a quote from Artemis Fowl, an absolutely wonderful series that I love.**

_**Bolded, italicized text indicates a quote from the song "Just a Dream" by Carrie Underwood. Look it up if you want, but beware, it might make you cry.**_

Happy reading!

-Ariana

* * *

Harry, Danny, and Andy sat happily in Harry's room, steadily working their way through a plate of brownies Lily had sent up. They only had a couple months to go until school was out for the summer, and they needed to plan a huge prank. After all, this was their last year of primary, and God forbid they not go out with a bang.

"There's no way we could pull that off!" exclaimed Danny. "We'd be the only ones missing. And besides, Camille would snitch for sure."

Andy and Harry shared a knowing glance. Camille Leone, a pretty little French girl in their class, was all Danny ever talked about. He claimed it was because she was so annoying, but his twin and best friend knew better.

Harry smiled, though a little halfheartedly. He had not yet told his friends about him going off to Hogwarts, and it was, he knew, only a matter of time before he'd have to break the news.

"I think..." he whispered conspiratorially, "I think it's time Mrs. Mason had a bit of her own back." This was met by hoots, and both twins clapped Harry on the back.

"Something..." he continued recklessly, voice growing louder, "...with feathers and glue... And dirt."

Andy laughed. "That'll teach her, the old hag. It's so _stupid_ how she always gives us detention for tracking mud inside. I mean, what are we supposed to do if we're not playing rugby or football? Sit on the benches and talk? Like _girls_?"

They all fell back on Harry's bed, howling with laughter. They were just calming down when Lily stuck her head inside the door.

"You boys sound like you're up to something," she said suspiciously, one eyebrow raised.

Harry grinned angelically at her. "'Course we are, Mum. But don't worry, it's at school, and we won't get caught."

"Yeah, Mrs. Potter, we never do," chimed in Andy.

"Well, just don't send anyone to the hospital, and _don't get caught_," said Lily with a wink. "Oh, and Harry? Your father's home."

Harry's face lit up. He turned to his friends and said breathlessly, "Guys, I need to go do something, be right back," before tearing out of the room.

Lily watched him go. "Boys," she said to the twins, "Your mother's at the door, she says you need to get going."

Andy and Danny nodded. Each of them grabbed one last brownie off the plate before clattering down the stairs, where they saw not only their mum, but also Mr. Potter and Harry waiting for them. Harry was holding two thick envelopes and bouncing up and down excitedly.

As soon as he spotted his friends, he handed them each one of the envelopes. "Happy Birthday," he told them. "Go on then, open it!"

The twins eagerly tore their gifts open. A single piece of paper fluttered into Andy's hand first, and he flipped it over with bated breath.

" 'Private session at the renowned Best Leg Taekwondo Academy in London. All day pass. Become Masters of the Arts,' " he read, quite obviously thrilled. The three boys had all been equally taken with taekwondo since their second year of primary, when a demonstrator had come to the school and gotten them hooked.

Danny pulled an identical ticket out of his envelope and looked at Harry with wonder. "How did you get these? Passes like these sell faster than they're printed!" he breathed.

Harry merely grinned. "Ask no questions and I'll tell you no lies. But guess what?" He made a show of whipping something out from behind his back. "I've got one too! We're all gonna go together!"

The twins cheered, thanking Harry profusely.

Lily cleared her throat. "Okay, boys, Mr. and Mrs. Cassidy are going to take the three of you to London tomorrow so you can start at eight on the dot. The session goes until 3.30. Right, Mark?"

Mr. Cassidy nodded jovially. "When you're finished, we'll head out for a bit of a late lunch, and bring Harry back here by five or so."

Harry and his two best friends said their final goodbyes, and the Cassidys headed home.

* * *

James was dreaming. It was a good dream too: He and Lily sat in the common room in their seventh year, talking about nothing. Moony and Padfoot were playing an intense game of chess, and it looked to James like the werewolf was trouncing Sirius beyond all belief. Said Animagus finally jumped up as Remus lazily took his queen. "Come on, Moony! That was totally cheating! Take some pity on an old dog here!"

Remus laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Old is right, buddy. Come on, I gave you at least four chances to win there. That game was fair and square."

Pouting, Sirius appealed to James. "James!" he whined. "Do you see this?"

"I saw nothing."

"Yeah right. It was right there! He cheated! Wake up! _Wake up!_"

* * *

"Dad! Dad, wake UP!"

James sat upright. "You suck at chess, Sirius!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Dad, it's Harry. Mum told me to come get you out of bed, it's 7:30 and she wants you showered and dressed by the time the Cassidys get here."

"How much time do I have?"

**Harry checked his watch. "If you hurry... none."**

James shot out of bed. "Bloody... Well, you tell your mother to get me up earlier next time," he said as he stumbled into the bathroom.

Harry stifled a laugh. He wondered when his father would check the clock and realize it was only seven.

* * *

In the brightly colored kitchen, Lily was fussily smoothing Harry's hair. He allowed this, although with a somewhat irritated expression.

"Ready to go?" she asked for what Harry knew to be the fourth time.

"Yes, Mum."

"Do you have your uniform?"

"Yes, Mum." Oh no. Not the list again. She could go on forever if she had a right mind to.

"Ten pounds to give to Mr. and Mrs. Cassidy?"

"Yes, Mum."

"Emergency Portkey?"

"Do I _have_ to bring it?" Harry sighed; she made him wear the thing every time they were farther away from Surrey than they could comfortably walk.

"Yes, you do, Harry. I've told you, London makes me nervous. Now, do you have it?"

"_Yes_, Mum."

"Good. James, where are you?" called Lily.

"Right... here..." panted James, skidding down the hall. His hair was still wet from the shower, making it stick up even more than usual. "Are they here?"

Lily sighed. "James, it's only 7:20."

"What? But- he..." James sputtered for a minute before rounding on his son. "Harry! You told me I was late!"

Harry smiled innocently at his father. "Well, you likely would have been had I not told you that you were. I was just taking the initiative."

Lily was overcome with laughter. "This" -she pointed at Harry- "is what you get."

James huffed. "What for?"

"Raising another Marauder. One that's loyal to me."

"Oh, very funny," he pouted.

"Yes, yes it is."

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Danny asked from the backseat.

"Yep," replied Mr. Cassidy. "Just a couple more minutes. You boys ready to go?"

Andy released a whoosh of breath. "Dad, we've been ready for like _ever_."

"Alright, just making sure. We're here!"

The Cassidys' red minivan pulled up into a parking lot that sharply contrasted with the ancient Japanese looking building before them. Towering four levels into the air, it was the very picture of a training center for the martial arts.

Harry and the twins all but ran inside in their excitement. Once they passed the double doors, they stumbled a few feet into the long entry corridor, barely remembering to slow down respectfully and stow their shoes in the cubbies on the side of the hall.

An elegantly dressed woman behind a desk next to several doors raised an eyebrow. "Parents?" she drawled in a heavy London accent.

"Right behind us," Andy piped up, just as Mr. and Mrs. Cassidy strode through the doors.

"Names?"

Mr. Cassidy laid their passes on the desk. "Mark and Tanya Cassidy here to drop Andy Cassidy, Danny Cassidy, and Harry Potter off for the eight to three-thirty session."

The woman held the three passes up to the light as if determining their authenticity. Eventually, she nodded, glaring first at the three boys, then the adults. "Second door to your right. Adults, be back at 3 sharp for the skills presentation."

Andy, Danny, and Harry grinned, thanking her, before disappearing through the door.

The Cassidy adults turned and headed out into the bright London day.

* * *

Richard Dillard had had a horrible day. His wife, beautiful Nancy Dillard, had announced she was leaving him "until he got his issues straightened out". Then, when he had come into work, drunk one time too many, his boss had given him the boot. He had stayed sober just long enough to drive to the ATM and then to the bar.

Richard entered the dingy one-room place with a sense of deep relief. He plunked dejectedly down at his favorite stool and called the barkeep over.

The old man, who knew Richard quite well by now, slid his usual across the tabletop and sat down across the way. "Hard times wit' the missus, Rich?"

"You've no idea," Richard moaned, knocking the glass back and relishing the strong liquor. "Bloody woman up and left, and now my boss's gone and left me on the street. Pass me another. What'm I s'posed to do, Mark?

"Dunno, m' boy. Had a fair few bad 'ands in me card game of life, but there yeh go. What're yeh gonna do?"

"Mark, will ya quit spewin' out riddles? Just keep the shots comin'."

The barkeep leant back, watching but not really minding as his most predictable customer drank himself deeper and deeper into oblivion. The drunker Richard got, the more expensive drinks he began to buy. And those fancy vodkas really helped to pay off a few more… _costly_… debts.

* * *

As Richard stumbled out into the parking lot after his binge, he was feeling quite wonderful, blank and numb and so amazingly… _nothingy. _

_That even a word?_ He wondered idly as he tried several times to stick his key in the slot. _Ah well, if it isn't, then it should be. I'll make it one when I get home._

If one were to ask him how he was at the moment he rumbled out onto the motorway, he would've said something rambling and quite drunk, but positive at the very least.

But then the red minivan cut him off. And everyone knows that even the funniest drunk can quickly and easily become a mean one.

* * *

Harry sat in the back of the Cassidys' car, grinning ear to ear. Seven and a half hours with the twins, learning taekwondo from the legendary masters in London had left him exhilarated. Currently, the group of five was on the motorway, rounding an exit that would take them to Big Ben Burgers, where they'd eat before heading back to Surrey.

The three boys were eagerly recounting everything they'd done while at the camp to Mr. and Mrs. Cassidy, when out of nowhere, a black truck whipped up beside them. The driver, who appeared to be yelling angrily at them, was having trouble staying in his lane.

Mr. Cassidy's eyes widened as he realized the man's intoxication, and he stepped on the brake trying to avoid a collision. But he was too late, the man too determined. What happened next was as if in slow motion.

He tried desperately to swerve, but the truck rammed into him. The smaller car was jolted over the side railing, and flipped onto its back after a ten-foot drop onto the highway below.

As they went down, the twins and Harry screamed, terrified, and the adults tried to hold in their own agonized cries for their sake.

Harry saw, just before everything went black, a golden sphere spinning into existence, wrapping and weaving around the terrified boy. Its glow burst into a shower of sparks and dissipated as Harry faded into unconsciousness.

* * *

"James, what time was Harry supposed to be home?" called Lily.

"Five o'clock," her husband replied from his position in the sitting room.

"He's an hour late," she said, sounding slightly worried.

"Want me to call the twins' parents again?" Upon their marriage, Lily had introduced James to the wonderful world of Muggle phones. He had been delighted and fascinated, even now taking every possible opportunity to use the house phone he'd had installed.

"I don't know. I just have this feeling that something isn't right."

"Well, maybe they just aren't home yet. You never know how slow traffic might be." James watched as Lily nervously pulled back the curtain to look down the road again. "Listen, if they're not here after the news, we'll call again, or drive out to the restaurant. Something."

Lily nodded hesitantly, still not convinced entirely but deciding to ignore her gut. "Alright."

They sat down on the couch together. James Summoned the remote and turned on the telly to be greeted with the opening notes of the evening news.

A perky blonde woman with a face a little too perfect to be natural inclined her head. "Good evening. And welcome to the six o'clock news. I'm Angela Stevens, before we get into tonight's top stories, let's go to Adam for a check and update on traffic."

The camera flashed to an image of a balding man, maybe in his late forties. His tucked-in checkered shirt stretched tightly over a paunch; he gave a jaunty wink to the camera. "Well, thank you, Angela. As for all you curious commuters out there, traffic's gonna be a tad on the slow side tonight as there's been a pretty bad wreck on the A-25. I believe we've got a bit of footage?"

James glanced over at his wife. "See? I bet they're just in behind the wreck. No worries, Lily."

Lily let out a breath of relief. "I guess you're right. I just overreac-" She abruptly cut herself off, pointing to the television as a yelp escaped her mouth.

"_Oh god, OH GOD!" _

The cocky reporter grinned, oblivious to the Potter couple's mounting horror, as half the screen changed to a scene of the wreck he had indicated. "There we go. As you can see-" His expression morphed into a pitiful imitation of seriousness. "-the car, a red minivan, was thrown off the bridge and landed on its side. Five people were inside; however, none had any identification on their person. From the information we have so far, we can tell that there were two adults, and three primary school aged children inside the van. The emergency services had to cut all five from the wreckage and they have been transported to Mercy Hospital in London. Police are asking for information on the identity of these people and also the cause of the accident."

"That's the Cassidy's minivan. Oh god. Harry was in there! James, where's my wand? We've got to go!" Her husband was one step ahead of her. He put her wand in her hand, and together they Apparated away to the hospital.

* * *

Harry blearily opened his eyes and blinked several times. His wrist felt like it was burning, hot white needles of pain were shooting up his arm, and the room was far too white for his liking. His eyes flickered shut again, but they shot open again after images of what happened flashed before his eyes. Harry cried out, mental anguish far worse than anything his arm could ever dream of providing.

Harry tried desperately to think of something, anything to distract him; the woman's voice resounding in the hallway was half a headache and half a relief. "Where is he? Where's Harry? I need to see my baby!"

A sad voice replied somberly. "Of course, Mrs. Potter. Right this way." No sooner had this voice quieted than Harry's parents burst through the door, accompanied by a tweedy man in a white lab coat.

Lily and James rushed to their son's bed, eyes wide with panic. Lily began stroking his hair gently. "Oh honey, what happened?" she asked worriedly.

The man, likely Harry's doctor, spoke up quietly. "He'll be fine, ma'am. A broken wrist and some various cuts and bruises, that's all. Your son was incredibly lucky."

James' face twisted with a sickening realization, and one look at his son's tear-streaked face confirmed his worst suspicions. But he had to ask, had to make sure this wasn't all a terrible mistake. "Doctor? What... The Cassidys, are they..."

The last word, though unspoken, hung in the air like an omen. The doctor heaved a breath and hung his head, looking anywhere but at James' face or the small boy in the bed. "The family is all dead, sir. They were killed on impact. I'm... so sorry for your loss. They didn't suffer. They were good friends, I presume?"

James could only nod dumbly, shocked beyond belief as the man continued. "Harry can go home. Just bring him back in two weeks for a checkup on his wrist."

Lily, who had been huddled next to Harry in an attempt to comfort him, gently stood him up and led her son out the door. Once the small family stood in a secluded clump of willows in the parking lot, Lily tapped her wand on the emerald pendant around Harry's neck. They all glowed electric blue for a fraction of a second before disappearing to Potter Manor.

* * *

"Harry? Harry, sweetheart, would you like a cup of tea?" Lily asked her son quietly once they had sat down in their home.

In response, the boy slowly shook his head. "I don't deserve tea," he murmured in a level of calm that slightly disturbed his parents.

"Harry…" James tried. "You couldn't have done anything-," he said gently. Wrong thing to say.

"YES, I COULD HAVE! I SHOULD BE DEAD, NOT THE TWINS! MY MAGIC WAS THE _ONLY_ THING THAT SAVED ME, IT MADE A SHIELD AND I WAS TOO _LAZY_ AND TOO _SELFISH_ TO HELP THEM AND IT'S ALL ME FAULT AND _I KILLED THEM_!" Harry broke down completely, grasping his legs and pulling them close to his chest, taking deep shuddering breaths that quickly turned to all-out sobs.

Lily and James exchanged a horrified glance. Lily grabbed her son's shoulders, pulling him up to look at her. "Harry James Potter! You listen to me. _Listen_!"

Harry turned streaming emerald eyes, filled with apprehension. "You are not a trained wizard. You are ten years old. You cannot control your magic. You have nothing_, nothing_, to be ashamed of. Do you understand me?" Lily and Harry met eyes, the same eyes. One pair was confused, adamant; the other, confused and upset. Both were wet.

Slowly, Harry nodded. Lily frowned upon seeing the lingering guilt in his eyes, but let it go. She impulsively pulled her son into a short, tight hug, and then released him while retaining a slight grip on his shoulders. A sad smile turned her mouth. "It's going to be alright, you know," she found herself saying. "Not today. Not tomorrow. But it will be."

Harry pulled back from her, mournful green eyes staring up and making him look just so _small_. "Mum?"

"Yes, Harry?"

Harry bit his lip. "How come that crash had to happen? What'd I do?"

James cut in, looking closely at the son who so closely resembled him. "Harry, you didn't do anything. Sometimes, things just happen."

A lone tear rolled down Harry's face. "That doesn't make it right," he said quietly. "That doesn't change anything."

Lily stroked Harry's hair. "Harry, you have to accept that sometimes, things don't fall into place like they should. That doesn't make it right, and in no way does it make it easier. I know what happened seems like you could have helped it, but there was nothing you could have done. And the twins wouldn't have wanted you to blame yourself."

"The twins would have wanted a lot of things, Mum," Harry said bitterly. "I just need to be alone." He raced up the stairs, and James ran a hand through his hair as a door slammed.

"What do we do now, Lily?" he asked.

His wife shook her head sadly, still staring at the place on the couch where Harry had sat just moments before. "I don't know, James. I don't know."

* * *

The room was stuffy, overflowing; a mix and mash of emotions run wild. Relatives sobbed, friends stood in shocked disbelief, and at the front of the grand chapel, a shrine sat; gleaming copper and bright flowers a complement to the smiling and laughing faces in the photos.

Harry, however, had not eyes for the beautiful arrangement, nor the groups of bystanders murmuring their condolences. He gripped the old football harder than ever, pulling the collar of his suit uncomfortably. Lily put her arm around his shoulders and gave him a reassuring squeeze, asking in a whisper that sounded a million miles away whether he'd like to go up now.

Harry nodded tersely, a lump forming in his throat. _One foot in front of the other._ He slowly made his way up to the memorial in a dreamlike state to join the small queue in front of the altar. As they cleared away, Harry felt his throat constrict.

_Please, I can't stand this. This can't be real, it can't. __**This is just a dream.**_

"Hi guys... Mr. and Mrs. Cassidy_." Merlin, this is hard._ "I... I'm sorry that... this happened. Andy, Danny... do you remember our first football match ever? And Danny, you don't play, but back then you did, 'cause Andy begged you." Harry knew he was babbling, but he couldn't stop now. The torrent of words had been bubbling up and now was their time to overflow.

"And we were up by one, and Andy, you were goalie, and then that real big kid from London kicked it and you blocked it by an inch? Well, after, the game, the coach gave you the ball but you gave it to me because I was so, so _excited_ and I had never ever won a game this big before and I was so _happy_. You were the heroes of that day for me, and Danny, you too. You both..." Harry sighed, blinking back tears. "I loved you both."

"Yeah, so did I."

The deep voice startled Harry. He jumped around to see Derek, eldest Cassidy at nineteen, accompanied by Emma, his fifteen-year-old sister and their grandparents. "But what did that matter? Tell me Harry, did you enjoy the trip that killed my parents and little brothers?"

Emma smacked her brother on the arm, and the grandparents made noises of shock and anger, but Harry's worst fears had just been confirmed. Emma looked at him with pity. "I'm sorry about Derek, Harry. He's taking... it... really hard. We know it's not your fault.

Harry shook his head. "No, he's right! I'm sorry! It's my fault, it was my idea to go! I'm so sorry," he whispered brokenly before tearing down the aisle to the disapproving stares and bewildered glances of other patrons.

"Harry! Wait!" called Emma, but the ten-year-old had already disappeared around the corner. She rounded on her brother. "Derek Cassidy! How could you say something like that to a sweet boy like Harry? He already blamed himself; that much was obvious! Then you had to go and say it was his fault that Mum and Dad and the twins are dead! Harry's not just some outlet for your grief, Derek! He's a person too, with feelings and remorse and pain. He was their _best friend_. Don't you think he's suffering too?"

Derek stared blankly at the memorial, at the beaming family portrait. "I think we're all suffering right now, Emma."

* * *

Harry had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there; all the long corridors in the funeral home seemed to have blurred past as he tried to outrun his feelings. All he knew was that he heard footsteps, they were coming closer and closer...

"Oh Harry! I'm so sorry for your loss," said Miss Benet, the young woman who normally assisted in the lunchroom and library. She must have been assigned to chaperone the trip. Blinking back tears, Harry saw that his entire class was peeking out behind her, decked out in their Sunday best and obviously uncomfortable. They all clutched cards that would likely be placed onto the memorial, accompanied by much sniffing and fake, tragic expressions. Except for one. Dudley Dursley hung near the back, wearing his normal clothes, a casual sweatshirt and jeans.

When he saw Harry, his eyes lit up in malice. He waited until the rest of the pack had proceeded to the main hall, then sidled up to his cousin.

"So Potter, how're your friends lately?" Dudley asked in a mockery of innocence.

"Don't you dare," Harry spat, eyes narrowing.

"Oh, seems I've touched a nerve. Don't worry, the two idiots will come soon enough. They can't stand being without their richest friend. Maybe it's because they've never seen a pound coin in real life before. Talk about a charity case!"

Harry struggled to keep his shock and anger under check. How had Dudley known of the Cassidys' financial problems? They had been so well hidden for that very purpose. Andy and Danny were so ashamed of their struggles.

It was this picture of their upset faces that sent him over the edge. He lunged at Dudley, years of taekwondo, football, and Quidditch aiding him in pinning the much bigger boy to the floor.

The two wrestled for a moment, before Dudley snapped at Harry, "I guess I was wrong. They won't come! They never will! Know why, Potter? You killed them!"

Of course, Dudley didn't know of Harry's internal struggle, he was just grasping at straws. But his words struck deep. The smaller boy pushed his forearm against the other's throat, hatred and anguish shining in his emerald eyes.

"Shut your stupid fat face. You don't know anything! You're just a pathetic bully and I hate you! Everyone hates you!"

Harry pushed off of Dudley in disgust and stood up, spots of color appearing high on his cheekbones.

Dudley followed suit, and made the mistake of turning away after he had muttered under his breath, "Don't know why there's such a fuss, bloody urchins deserved to die."

Harry let out an enraged scream, advancing on his cousin again. "I can't believe you! Stupid, fat, horrible _pig!_"

He pointed at Dudley as he said the last word. There was a flash of light, and the whale-sized boy squealed, wheeling around and trying to catch a glimpse of his backside, which seemed to have sprouted a long, curly tail.

Adrenaline surging through his veins, Harry shot his cousin one last loathing look and then he turned and ran out of the funeral home.

His parents stumbled upon Dudley, still feeling his new tail and whimpering about freaks, and just barely caught a glimpse of their son running off into the distance.

* * *

The older Potters had taken off after their son, but were too far behind him to prevent the barricade that had gone up against his bedroom door. Lily had been all for breaking down the door and being with him, but James had eventually convinced her that he just needed some time to calm down, so it was with a heavy heart that the couple retreated down the stairs.

The boy in question was currently curled up in his closet, head against the cool wood paneling, breath coming in short shallow gasps as he futilely attempted to stem his emotions. The closet, while stuffy and somewhat foreboding when dark, was the only place Harry could think of that the twins hadn't been in his home.

The kitchen, study, and living room were too much. He could barely stand the backyard. And the makeshift soccer field brought back painful memories by the dozen.

Harry let out a shuddering breath as he made to stand. Then his hand brushed against something he recognized as an extra taekwondo robe, and he fell to his knees, overcome by yet another wave of sobs and guilt.

The things Derek and Dudley had said... Were they true?

After all, who had suggested they go to London for the twins' birthday? Harry.

Who was it that had given the boys the idea to stop at their favorite restaurant? Harry.

Every turn, road, and direction they took could be traced back to Harry's influence. And then, when it had mattered most, he had failed them. His magic had saved him, but left his friends and their parents to die. If only he wasn't so incompetent.

So weak.

So selfish.

If only he had worked harder on the training his family had been giving him since he was seven, Harry was convinced, he could have saved four lives that day.

Taking a deep breath, Harry pushed open the door of his closet, stood up and stepped out into his room. He strode purposefully to his desk and fumbled around for a spare piece of parchment and a quill. On it, he wrote four names.

_Andy Cassidy_

_Danny Cassidy_

_Mark Cassidy_

_Tanya Cassidy_

"I'm never going to have to add to this list. Never. I am going to train harder than anyone has ever trained. I am not going to let anyone die because of me ever again," he solemnly promised to himself, stashing the list in a loose floorboard under his bed. "I won't let it happen again."

And with that the young boy finally succumbed to his exhaustion, collapsing on his bed, not knowing that his dreams from here on out would be plagued with haunting images and painful memories.


End file.
